Rock Armour 1

Rock Armour 1 – Rock armour (also called rip-rap) is a vital form of sea defence structure on British coastlines, serving to break the force of the waves and prevent erosion of softer substrates along the shoreline thus protecting nearby natural and manmade structures from storm damage. These large rock boulders are often imported to a particular location from another entirely different geographical site and so frequently reflect an entirely different geology. The hewn faces display new and contrasting petrological features and fossils the details of which are both fascinating and accessible. This image is a detail of the natural abstract pattern and texture on one such rip-rap boulder at Seatown in Dorset.